Shatter as a map needs reworked. Currently it engenders too many bad habits in more pvp casual minded players and winds up creating way too many non-games compared to the other three maps owing to its poor layout.
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Shatter as a map needs reworked. Currently it engenders too many bad habits in more pvp casual minded players and winds up creating way too many non-games compared to the other three maps owing to its poor layout.
Shatter has been complained about since the release of the rework. Same with Secure, but not as badly as Shatter has been.
The only hope we can have is that the new Frontlines map contains zero PvE elements that'll give players an excuse to not have to participate in PvP while avoiding being reported for AFKing. That way we have two decent maps for actual PvP content, the other being Onsal. Seize can be better, but the map needs to be retooled for better node placement and balance.
What's wrong with it?
Map design and the core objective of the map.
Map Design: Only two routes to the outside large ice makes contesting them too difficult and often times not worth the risk. Going through middle will often resort in the other team pinching you from behind, or going through the enemy base will have the enemy team pinch you after they respawn.
Objectives: The target dummies (ICE) is a way for players to effectively AFK and avoid the game mode that the map is listed under: PvP, so they can collect their free rewards at the end because score/team placement hardly matters. Shatter makes it easy to avoid being called out for leeching/afking because the scoreboard shows them having "participated" by striking a target dummy the entire match, even though most of them have less than 10k damage to other players (accidentally through AoEing the middle ice).
Seize has similar issues with middle being a PvE event, and the outside having no cooldown between swapping control, so players just run away to the other side if they see any enemy players.
Would you really rather people who only go there for one daily roulette for rewards, avoid PVPing and effectively AFK to be stuck in gamemodes where they CANT do that while remaining at least somewhat productive by doing the objectives while AFKing? And for them to just AFK by repeatedly uselessly dying and feeding BH to enemy team in process?
Counterpoint, I don't care about PvP, still have no clue how it works, and still queue in for daily frontline just because I want the emotes and sets from the PvP reward track, as well as that sweet XP for side jobs. I am the guy that dies 20 times and earns like 4 assists as Bard. And I am not playing the game wrong. Sue me.
I would prefer it if all maps were designed in such a way to where the actual map layout, objectives, and design don't cause a significant amount of non-games. Of the 3 other maps seize is the only other map currently through its design that can cause non-games. But they're nowhere near as frequent or egregious as shatter. Also it's harder to get mad at a 700 point slugfest that's significantly quicker than a 1600 slog. So while it does need a rework to correct some imbalances, shatter needs that rework more immediately.
Borderlands (secure) and onsol actually encourage players to actually somewhat learn the mode and any non-games are not caused by the physical design of the map. For hakir players like you can help secure the actual flags, for borderlands there's a bunch of cool shit that can be done in the middle like making other teams take more damage from raid mechanics or running a stack marker into them during a teamfight.
Shatter specifically causes more non-games because it heavily encourages 90% of the team to sit on the crystal leading to a lack of battle high. So if one team gets ahead by being forced to teamfight one of the other teams they can easily snowball. You are not actually winning or making the game go faster by sitting on the crystal. You're making it take longer due to battle high providing a significantly scaling damage buff (which incidentally damages the crystal faster if you have battle high compared to not having it). Right now in its current form nobody is really happy because the casuals who sit at the crystal never win at the map and don't understand why, those more invested definitely don't win because of non-games, and even those that win from snowballing probably get bored after their 30th curbstomp in a row.